Williams: We all must hit the goal trail

STAND-IN Wrexham captain Danny Williams admitted the club’s current striker problems proved costly at Bury on Tuesday evening where the home side notched up a sixth successive victory thanks to a seventh-minute goal from Dwayne Mattis.

STAND-IN Wrexham captain Danny Williams admitted the club’s current striker problems proved costly at Bury on Tuesday evening where the home side notched up a sixth successive victory thanks to a seventh-minute goal from Dwayne Mattis.

But Williams, wearing the armband in the absence of Darren Ferguson, said the responsibility for ending the Dragons’ goal drought had to be shared throughout the team while newcomers Maheta Molango and Kevin Smith adjusted to the demands of League Two football.

Wrexham, who were indebted to goalkeeper Mike Ingham for a series of important saves throughout the match, piled on the pressure during the final 20 minutes, but were unable to grab an equaliser.

"Bury had more of the play in the first half, but we were much better after the break and created quite a bit more," said Williams. "But it’s not just down to the strikers because we as midfielders should be coming into the box as well.

"Bury were quicker out of the blocks than us and created more of the chances and it took us 20 minutes to get into the game. But when we did we were trying to make things happen.

"Mike made three or four good saves to keep us in the game, but we have to help him out at the other end as well. We got in some great positions but things are not going in for us at the moment."

To make matters worse for the Dragons, Jon Newby finished the match with a hamstring strain, which looks set to rule him out of Saturday’s FA Cup first-round clash with Stevenage Borough.

Defender Ryan Valentine is also a major doubt after quitting at the break because of a groin strain and manager Denis Smith confessed he was running out of ideas after losing yet another striker.

"It’s not difficult to put the finger on our problem, you just have to walk into our treatment room to find Juan Ugarte, Lee McEvilly and Neil Roberts with Chris Llewellyn talking to them," he said.

"Tom Craddock, who is Middlesbrough’s fifth choice striker, is under treatment up there as well, so we have a problem with the strikeforce.

"We’ll go back to the drawing board again, but there’s not a great deal more I can do because I have nowhere else to go.

"Jon Newby has now done his hamstring and is out for Saturday. But Marc Williams should be back from the Wales under-19 trip and as long as he’s not been injured, he will come into the reckoning."

Although Llewellyn completes his three-match ban this weekend, Wrexham’s four injured strikers are at least three weeks away from contemplating any match action and the Racecourse boss added: "We have got to put up with it because fortune is kicking us at the moment, but we’ve got to be strong enough to come through it and I believe we will be.

"Steve Evans looks to carry our best threat at the moment, but we’ll work between now and Saturday to see what we can do. It’s frustrating because I can’t say they haven’t worked or they haven’t tried, because they did everything."